Jorin Bloodhowl
13th Great Company]] Jorin Bloodhowl was Jarl (Wolf Lord) of the Space Wolves Chapter's lost Dekk-Tra (13th) Great Company during the Great Crusade. Ancient contradictory accounts state that is was Bloodhowl who led the fabled 13th Great Company -- given command by none other than the Primarch, Leman Russ himself. Whether or not this is fact, the truth remains unknown due to the passage of time, missing lore and and contradictory accounts. Though Jorin Bloodhowl may well be a Wolf Lord of the 13th Great Company, it is unknown whether or not he was the senior Wolf Lord, and therefore the true leader of this Great Company. History Jorin Bloodhowl was a native Fenrisian who served as one of the first Einherjar to the formidable warlord Leman, King of the Russ, the lost Primarch and rightful leader of the VI Legion of Astartes before the coming of the Allfather to their world during the Great Crusade. These formidable warriors served as an honour guard to Leman Russ, having been reavers and sword-brothers to their fearsome lord. When the truth of Leman's heritage was finally revealed, every warrior in the king's mead-hall had drawn their iron blades and clamoured to fight at his side, as sword-brothers ought. But the Emperor informed them that they were too old to survive the dangerous implantation process to become Legiones Astartes, as not a man amongst them was younger than twenty winters of age. The trials they would have to endure would very likely kill them, no matter how courageous and strong-willed they were. They would not be dissuaded by thoughts of suffering or death, and so, moved by the devotion of his warriors, Leman Russ could not refuse them, and thus allowed his warriors to undergo the dangerous process of becoming Space Marines. Though the vast majority of them died, two score managed to survive. Forming a new, elite company of warriors around these survivors, the other warriors of the VI Legion referred to these warriors as the "Greybeards". But the members of this company called themselves the "Wolf Brothers." Jorin joined the other Greybeards, forming the core cadre of the newly created Dekk-Tra (13th) Great Company, who were considered the most honourable Astartes of the Legion and the closest to their Primarch. The Dulan Campaign Jorin Bloodhowl and the 13th Great Company would go on to take part in many campaigns of the Great Crusade, including the notable Dulan Campaign. This was a conflict fought between the burgeoning Imperium of Man and the technologically advanced Faash, who refused to accept the Imperial Truth and offers of peace. After the Imperialis Auxilia suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the Faash, the Space Wolves Legion were assigned to bring the recalcitrant upstart human empire to heel. Jorin had risen to the esteemed position of Jarl, commanding the 13th Great Company in battle. By this time, Jarl Bloodhowl had already become aware of the "Curse of the Wulfen" -- a feral genetic deficiency within the Canis Helix of their Legion's gene-seed that would be unleashed within an affected warrior -- which caused them to suffer the horrible fate of transforming into savage, malformed lupine mutants. But Jorin kept this knowledge to himself, and chose to keep it a secret even from the Wolf King. His Huscarl, Bulveye, assigned the Wolf Priest Ulbrandr Crowhame and Rune Priest Leif Hemligjaga to inspect the bodies of two of their fellow warriors who had succumbed in quick succession to the Curse and transformed into Wulfen. Unfortunately, neither Priest of Fenris could determine the cause or offer any further insights as to why the two warriors suffered such an ignominious fate. During the beginning of the campaign Jarl Bloodhowl had been assigned by Leman Russ to hunt down the Faash, which he did in earnest across multiple star systems. But time and again, their superior fusion propulsion technology enabled many of the enemy's voidships to escape any pursuit, allowing them to escape to their empire's throneworld of Dulan. Eventually, the 13th discovered the location of the Faash's capital world, but had found out that the I Legion also sought out the location of the Faash on orders from the Council of Terra. Racing the Dark Angels to their prize, the Space Wolves came upon a great void battle being fought above Dulan. When the 13th Great Company arrived, they were hailed by the Dark Angels, but Jarl Bloodhowl refused to answer them until he had blooded his flagship Aesrumnir. He fired upon an enemy Battleship, which unknown to him, had been boarded by ten squads of Dark Angels Astartes. The Dark Angels' vessel Blade of Numarc fired a Lance at Jorin's ship in retaliation for their treacherous attack, severely damaging his vessel, which would later prevent it from halting a handful of small craft fleeing Dulan's orbital ring carrying at least one Space Wolf prisoner. Meanwhile, as the battle raged below, Iron Priest Kloja picked up a signal which indicated that there was a surviving Wolf Brother. In defiance of his Primarch's orders, Jarl Bloodhowl led three Packs of his warriors to an abandoned cathedral where they discovered the missing warrior who had succumbed to the Curse of the Wulfen. The planetwide pict-broadcast of the caged beast was transmitted to forces across Dulan before the recording devices could be destroyed. Jorin's small strike forces were soon surrounded by a large force of elite Scarabine warriors of the Faash, who threatened to overwhelm them. Facing inevitable defeat, Jorin released the caged Wulfen from its cage, setting the lupine beast upon the enemy as the Wolf King arrived. When the enemy were slain, Russ confronted Jarl Bloodhowl and chastised him for daring to keep such a dire secret from his liege-lord. He confessed to Jorin that he had already known the inherent risks involved in utilising the potent Canis Helix within his Legion's gene-seed. And yes, he had seen those that did not return from the wilds during the Test of Morkai. The Wolf King had gone out to the hinterlands, sometimes, alone, and ended their agony. These affected warriors looked no different than the Wulfen who stood before them. The Wolf King had hoped the Curse would remain at bay. Jorin had thought the Curse of the Wulfen only affected Dekk-Tra, the 13th Great Company alone. He had thought the fault was within only his warriors, and had let this thing grow within his company. Russ explained that it would more than likely be worse for the warriors of Dekk-Tra, but that they all carried the Curse within them. The Wolf King had been previously warned by Malcador the Sigillite, but would not countenance the removal of the Canis Helix from the Space Wolves' gene-seed template, as it was the spirit of the wolf within that made his Legion formidable and strong. They could not complain when it bit them. When the Lion witnessed the transmission of the bestial lupine creature, he had immediately ordered the records erased. Having given his brother Primarch time to bring his errant Jarl to heel, but unable to make contact with him, the Lion opted to launch a surgical teleportation strike into the Tyrant of Dulan's throne room within his Crimson Fortress. Meeting the Tyrant alone in mortal combat, the Lion offered Durath a final opportunity to surrender to the Imperium, but the Tyrant refused the Primarch's offer. Moments later his head was decapitated with a single stroke of the Lion Sword. Following this campaign, Jorin would later be succeeded by his Huscarl Bulveye as Jarl of Dekk-Tra sometime before the Prospero Campaign. Physical Appearance Jorin Bloodhowl had been old before the Helix had been applied, just as all the commanders of his Great Company had been old. Only a handful had survived the implantation process, being far from the optimal age for such rigours, but they had all dared it anyway, for they had been Russ' own brotherhood, the ones who had guarded him during the mortal years under Fenris' cruel gaze. Jorin possessed a long mane of jet-black hair and his face was seemingly carved from blasted bedrock, long and lean and riven with scars. His skin looked ancient, harrowed over a lifetime of combat in the steel-sharp storm winds of their harsh Death World of Fenris. He also possessed black-rimmed eyes that did not have the amber irises usual among the warriors of the VI Legion, but almost human eyes, barely tinged by the mutating effects of the Canis Helix. Jorin's physical stature was quite large even for a Space Marine, as he towered over his own Wolf Guard. Wargear *'Runic Armour' *'Plasma Pistol' *'Master-Crafted Frost Axe' *'Frag Grenades' *'Krak Grenades' *'Melta Bombs' *'Wolf Pelt' - Fenrisian Wolves are renowned across the galaxy for their viciousness. They are respected creatures, and greatly entwined with Space Wolf beliefs. Unarmed hunting rituals exist on Fenris to prove a warrior's prowess. Should a Battle-Brother succeed on such a hunt, he typically displays the pelt of the animal thereafter. *''The Wulfen Stone'' - This ancient gem was found by Wolf Lord Jorin Bloodhowl on an Eldar Crone World during the 13th Great Company's sojourn in the Eye of Terror. It was worked into Jorin's suit of Power Armour by Fengri, the great Artificer and one of the Company's few surviving Iron Priests. Within its murky depths lies the raging image of the Were, the Wulfen monster of Fenris that lies coiled within the gene-helix of every Space Wolf. The Wulfen Stone has the unusual property of amplifying a bearer's Wulfen rage to far beyond that of the rest of their kin. Its horror can be borne by few creatures and as a result, most foes will break and run in absolute terror before the fell creature before them. This dire relic is one of the Space Wolves' greatest treasures. Canon Conflict In the original Warhammer 40,000 canon, Jorin Bloodhowl was known as Jorin Bloodfang. At the time it was not clear whether the character named Bulveye was the actual ranking Wolf Lord of the 13th Great Company, as he only appears in the novels of author William King, which were not fully accepted as canon (and clash with the current depiction of the Vlka Fenryka in later Black Library novels). It might have been the case, however, that due to their extended Great Hunt in the Eye of Terror, the 13th Great Company became fragmented to the degree that it was forced to promote several of its remaining Wolf Guard to the position of Jarl (Wolf Lord) in order to maintain several independent task forces. In this case, Bulveye may well be a'' Wolf Lord of the 13th Great Company, but probably not ''the Wolf Lord. Sources *''Codex: Space Wolves'' (5th Edition), pp. 15, 17 *''White Dwarf'' 245, (UK), "Lone Wolves" by Andy Chambers, pg. 34 *''Tales of Heresy'' (Anthology), "Wolf at the Door," by Mike Lee *''The Horus Heresy: Primarchs - Leman Russ, The Great Wolf'' (Novel) by Chris Wraight Category:J Category:B Category:Characters Category:History Category:Imperial Characters Category:Imperial History Category:Imperium Category:Space Marines Category:Space Wolves